Here are the materials:
1 Honor the Earth Petition to Intervene
2 Honor the Earth Jurisdiction Memorandum
3 North Dakota Pipeline Company Response
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
News Coverage of Honor the Earth Arguing For a Voice in Pipeline Route in Front of Minnesota ALJ
Here.
Attorneys for the company contend that the commission has no business
deciding the meaning of federal treaties. Even so, much of the two-hour discussion before Judge Eric Lipman focused on 10 treaties signed between 1825 and 1864 by Minnesota Indian tribes.
“It would represent a dramatic departure from the commission’s precedent and would significantly impact not just pipeline projects but all large energy projects sited in northern Minnesota,” said Christine Brusven, an attorney for the Calgary-based pipeline company that’s proposing to build the 610-mile pipeline to carry North Dakota oil.
Headed for the courts?
Lipman, who is overseeing the regulatory review of the pipeline, is expected to rule on the treaty rights question, but the final decision rests with the Public Utilities Commission. The issue ultimately could land in federal court.
H/T Jean O’Brien
Upcoming Event, Raising Awareness and Knowledge of Proposed Pipelines that Threaten MN Wild Rice
April 17, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm, Hamline University School of Law will host a law student training event. The students will learn about administrative processes related to proposed oil pipelines, specifically focusing on the ones slated to run through Minnesota.
From the press release:
Honor the Earth, a Native-led environmental organization, has joined with a coalition of related organizations to protect Minnesota’s wild rice stands. The group is participating in the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (“PUC”) and administrative processes regarding two proposed oil pipelines threatening some of the most significant wild rice stands in the state. To advance those efforts, Winona LaDuke of Honor the Earth and her team of legal allies will train Minnesota environmental law students on April 17th. Hamline University School of Law will host the event from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm which will also be available statewide via webcast. Environmental law students from all four Minnesota law schools (University of Minnesota, William Mitchell, Hamline, and St. Thomas) will be reviewing the legal and administrative cases.
Press interviews will also be offered from 10:30 am – 11:25 am in the Moot Court Room.
Further information on the pipelines and efforts to propose alternative routes can be found in the press release:
News coverage here.
Turtle Talk 
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